Raging Grace: Blues rock veterans from Massachusetts

The reviews by Derek Walker in the weekly Church of England Newspaper are as broadly diverse as the strands of CofE adherents. Each week Mr Walker plucks an item from the media avalanche - both non-Christian and Christian - to bring readers his thoughts on a CD or DVD. He might review Israel Houghton or PFM ("Italy's best known rock band"). He might review the movie re-make of Move Over Darling or a Magic Roundabout DVD. But in the 13th August 2010 issue of the newspaper the eclectically inclined critic surpassed himself by reviewing 'Spitfire' by Raging Grace - a blues rock three-piece from Massachusetts. The fact that at the time of his review Mr Walker probably possessed the only copy of 'Spitfire' in the UK didn't stop the seasoned reviewer from waxing lyrical about how "the pure guitar sound is Mark Knopfler one moment and Wishbone Ash the next" and how "it beats much of what I sing in church and sounds gutsier than many CCM songs."

Back when Walker's rave review was published Cross Rhythms, presumably like all the other CEN readers, had never heard of Raging Grace . But thanks to his review that has now been rectified. Having caught up with the music of these Massachusetts-based blues rockers we took the opportunity to quiz them about their music and ministry.

The band's vocalist and guitarist Stephen Bell spoke about the CEN review. "It came as a complete surprise and was very welcome. It's great to get encouragement when you lest expect it." The band's bass player Dean E Shannon spoke about Raging Grace 's early history. "Steve and I had a mutual friend named Rick LaMarre who played electric rhythm guitar. Somewhere around 1990 or so, Rick approached me and said, 'I've got a buddy who plays lead and we're looking to get together and jam a bit. Interested?' I jumped in but with an eye only toward it being a temporary gig. We got a couple more folks on board and were officially a five-piece. After playing in a church basement long enough to learn a handful of songs, we were asked to do a benefit concert for the family of a local teen who was killed in a car crash. For a whole host of reasons, like so many other first gig stories, this almost became our last. After 21 years of grinding and shaping (and a boat load of patience), we've whittled things down to a manageable trio. Less is more, that's our philosophy."

Steve explained how the band finally settled on a permanent drummer. "After a slew of short term drummers, Brian Conway came on board and played with us until '99. Dave came aboard in 2000 and has nearly completed the probation period, 11 years later." Dave Cheney admitted that he'd never even seen Raging Grace before he joined. He remembered, "My first gig was the first time I ever met either one of them. They insisted on getting together first to find out where I was spiritually and personally before we ever played anything. So we got together a couple hours before the gig and spent some time talking. The fact that they put more emphasis on my walk than my playing meant a lot to me, and made the decision to join much easier.

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